In an innovative twist on the netbook, Acer on Thursday launched the Aspire One AOD250, an Atom-powered netbook that can boot either into Windows XP Home or the Google Android operating system.

Priced at $349.99, the AOD250 is available now at major retailers and comes with a one-year warranty, Acer said.

Obviously, the key feature of the AOD250 is the ability to boot either OS; booting Android provides what Acer called "instant-on" functionality. (In my experience with the Android-powered MyTouch 3G phone, booting the Android phone requires about 15 to 20 seconds.)

Otherwise, the AOD250 contains many standard features, including a 1.66-GHz Atom N280 processor, Intel's 950 integrated graphics, and a 10.1-inch LED-lit LCD display. Inside the machine are a gigabyte of DDR2 memory and a 160-Gbyte, 5,400-RPM rotating disk drive. The netbook also ships with the standard complement of 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a card reader, and a webcam. The touchpad supports "multi gestures," however. A 6-cell (5,800 mAh) battery is included.

The AOD250 ships in these four colors: Ruby Red, Diamond Black, Sapphire Blue and Seashell White.